Woolworths is trialling a controversial scheme, offering in-store medical checks to people while they shop.

The retailing giant has hired nurses to conduct blood pressure and cholesterol checks on shoppers.

The program is currently being trialled in nine stores across New South Wales and Queensland and may be expanded to other states soon.

Scroll down for video

One of the new recruits: A nurse at Woolworths in Canberra last week. The health check program is being trialled in nine stores in New South Wales and Queensland

The scheme has come under fire from the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Guild of Pharmacists as 'risky' and 'highly inappropriate'.

Many of the criticisms of the program were based on a job advertisement on Seek.com, believed to be from Woolworths, which called for 'final year pharmacy students, or graduate pharmacists; and entry level nurses' to join their team.

However, a Woolworths spokesperson denied that the advertisement was from their company, saying they were not hiring pharmacists and the advertisement was 'issued by a third party and did not relate to Woolworths' in‐store cholesterol and blood pressure testing trial.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

The spokesperson added that the cholesterol and blood pressure tests in Woolworths stores were performed by 'qualified nurses', and in a survey of people who had used the service more than 90 percent said they thought it was valuable and useful.

The Australian Medical Association has called on Woolworths to scrap the scheme, saying it undermines quality health care and puts people at risk.

'Even if they're only using nurses, we don't think any health checks should be occurring in-store, we don't think it's the right environment,' said a spokesman from the Australian Medical Association.

AMA President Associate Professor Brian Owler added: 'Nothing is simple or straightforward when checking a person's health. In the proposed Woolworths environment, there would be no access to patient history and there would be no privacy.'

'These checks also run the risk of making people think they would not have to see their doctor.'

As well as this, Mr Owler said it was 'highly inappropriate' to conduct health checks in a supermarket that sold alcohol, cigarettes, sugary drinks, energy drinks and foods that are high in fat.

The controversial pharmacist and nurse program is being trialled in some stores in New South Wales and Queensland and will be rolled out across the country soon

The Australian Medical Association and the Australian Pharmacy Guild have expressed serious concerns about the scheme